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1 [1] (May 20, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegmx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: in gre sbin I Research Serv' mrmn theieavbslved dlat snc 19 14 0 Updated May 20, 2022 Confucius Institutes in the United States: Selected Issues The People's Republic of China (PRC or China)'s Confucius Institutes offer instruction in Chinese language in universities around the world. The Institutes have been the subject of controversy since appearing on U.S. university campuses in 2005, particularly for their perceived effects on academic freedom and for their lack of transparency. They have attracted further attention during the past several years as the broader U.S.-China relationship has deteriorated. Some Members of Congress and others have alleged that they may play a role in China's efforts to influence public opinion abroad, recruit influence agents on U.S. campuses, and engage in cyber espionage and intellectual property theft. PRC officials have denied such charges, and suggested that the Institutes have become victims of a U.S. Cold War mentality. Supporters of the Institutes have emphasized that they provide Chinese language and cultural programs that benefit students, universities, and surrounding communities, and that such offerings may not otherwise be available. Many U.S. universities have terminated their contracts with Confucius Institutes in the past four years. Policy Developments The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2021 (P.L. 116-283, Section 1062) restricts Department of Defense (DOD) funding to institutions of higher education that host a Confucius Institute. The United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (H.R. 4521) would restrict funding from the National Science Foundation and other federal education funding to institutions of higher education that host a Confucius Institute, unless certain conditions are met (Sections 2525 and 6122). Such conditions aim to ensure academic freedom and managerial control by the U.S. side, require transparency, and prohibit the application of PRC law at U.S. institutions of higher education. In August 2020, the Trump Administration designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS), which oversees Confucius Institutes in the United States, as a foreign mission of the PRC. The designation requires CIUS to regularly file information about its operations with the Department of State. CIUS is a PRC-funded, 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity based in Washington, DC. Hitory and Mission The first Confucius Institute opened in 2004 in Seoul, South Korea, followed by one at the University of Maryland (which closed in 2020). The PRC government created the Confucius Institutes, which have operated in over 160 countries, in part to help improve China's international image or reduce what PRC officials view as misconceptions about China. The Institutes are patterned after other national language and cultural programs, such as France's Alliance Francaise, Germany's Goethe Institute, the U.K.'s British Council, and Spain's Instituto Cervantes. Confucius Institutes exercise less autonomy from their home government than their European counterparts, however, and mostly are situated within foreign educational institutions, while their foreign counterparts are not. Nearly all Confucius Institutes focus on Chinese language instruction at the introductory level. U.S. Confucius Institutes generally offer noncredit courses to the public for a fee. In some cases, Institute instructors offer classes to enrolled students for academic credit, or teach credit courses in academic departments. The Institutes often work with university departments to cosponsor Chinese cultural events, academic seminars, and conferences focused on doing business in China. They also sponsor programs for U.S. students and scholars to study Chinese language in the PRC, and serve as platforms for academic collaboration between U.S. and Chinese universities. In 2020, the PRC government renamed the parent organization of the Confucius Institutes, the Chinese Language Council International (commonly referred to as Hanban), as the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. As part of the change, the PRC formed the Chinese International Education Foundation, a Ministry of Education-sponsored, nongovernmental charitable organization comprised of universities and corporations, to provide funding to the Institutes. Confucius Institutes in the United States The number of Confucius Institutes in the United States grew to 103 by 2017, mostly on university campuses, out of nearly 550 worldwide. China spent over $158 million on Confucius Institutes in the United States between 2006 and 2019, according to a U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee

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